Website usability: Studentlink Jessica Winblad Ravi Singh Ricky Sood Jendy Dennis Sahba Javedani

Introduction Our focus: the usability of the studentlink website from an undergraduate perspective

Where Does This Link Go? Most people make mistakes when visual cues do not correspond to the everyday design norms and conventions.

Button What does this button do?

WebMail?

Site Navigation Overall: Generally Good Strong Points: +consistent navigation aids +avoids confusing navigation methods (eg. frames) Weaker Points: –No Site Map –No Search Feature

Physical Layout & Appearance Use of –color –images Accessibility Overall, this is well done on Studentlink.

Site Colors & Background Rule of Webdesign: Avoid loud backgrounds with large variances in luminosity and color. Make the text contrast the background Why studentlinks design is good: A solid background is always a good choice for your web pages. It provides an easy reading surface for your reader and it doesn't distract the user from the main focus of your page: Your text! –jeffglover.com versus

Color & Background Continued This is hard to read eg: Compilers is # # # #

Color & Background Continued This is also relatively hard to read

Color & Background Continued These colors are much easier on the eyes Thus is good design

Additionally The background image is designed not to repeat like this: This was a real webpage featured on webpagesthatsuck.com

Navigation Buttons (from upper right corner of window)

More On Color: things in red red consistently used to highlight things that are important –warnings not overused though –overuse would lead to decreased sensitivity to this stimulus

Examples Academic history page: Financial aid page:

examples holds: (flashing) all pages that require logging on:

Blue occasionally student link deviates from conventions on color –example from academic history page: what is blue normally used for on webpages? how this could be fixed...

Quick Quiz how are the items on the button bar on the left part of the window ordered?

Answer: Alphabetical Is this logical? –alphabetical keyboards vs. QWERTY & DVORAK layouts Alternatives –frequency of use –grouped by how you use them

Alphabetical Vs. Logical

Pictorial Navigation Bar NowWith Pictorial Cues

Goal Oriented Tasks Overview: Studentlink is designed with a very pertinent and important task in mind. Signing up for classes Managing your schedule Paying fees and managing accounts Changing personal data.

Usability in Printing Example using academic history page

Remove button bar on printer friendly view Make title of what you are looking at more noticeable Decrease use of color (color does not print well on many printers) White text prints in light grey, not black Before

Use dashes in student number Feedback of what You are viewing Use font weight/ Styles to make Things easier to Distinguish rather Than color for printing Using borders will make sections easier to distinguish than using backgrounds which do not usually print After

Before & After

Default View Before Scrolling

After Scrolling

8 th week winter quarter usage: this entire quarter (winter) since the first of jan. usage statistics we obtained from studentlinks website

What Was Our Point? People look at next quarters schedule of classes more than this quarter on studentlink studentlinks statistics prove it the next quarter should be the default –its not even an *option* till the middle of the quarter anyway

Even though studentlink is not poorly designed, there is still much room for improvement. Conclusion